Partnering to follow a shared dream
Some dreams are better done together. Do you have a project you want to accomplish
and have someone that shares the same goals?
If so, consider yourself lucky. If
it is someone you trust, go for it. Jane
Aumann and I had a dream to create children’s books about farming. When we began our journey Jane was the editor
of an antique tractor magazine that I wrote for and we noted there were not
many stories around for children about farming.
We decided if we joined our talents we could fill that
niche. Our first step was to write a book reflecting the relationships between farm
machines and their owners that built the America we know today.
Our first effort was completed in 2,000 and was titled, Tucker’s
Surprise. We laugh at the way it all
came together, meeting at restaurants, cutting and pasting our revisions and
even being ousted from a diner when we lingered too long. Initial success for us and for you too will
be completing that first project.
Sharing the effort makes all the trial less burdensome and all the joys
that much sweeter. My husband once told
me, “You are both your biggest fans,” after catching us counting money from our
first book signing with excessive glee.
People ask us how we write together. It is easy.
Sometimes we write together, but most often write our own versions then
meld them together into the best version of our separate stories. We marvel that we often have pretty much the
same ideas and cohesive wording. I am a
fearless marketer and Jane is a detail diva.
I get our product out there and she makes sure it is clean!
After Tucker’s Surprise we published The Christmas
Tractor. With connections in the
freelance writing world, we advertised our books in publications where the
audience had a modicum of an idea of who we were. We recommend working with publications and
people that recognize your product and desire it.
To market we gave talks in schools and pitched to libraries.
Jane still goads me about a rotary event where she had to eat orange Jell-O
with carrots as she talked about our books.
Our third book, My Name is Huber, a Tractor’s Story, was
published in January by Oak Tree Press. This was a new since adventure since our
first two books were self published. Huber’s story is told through the eyes of a tractor named
Huber about his life on the farm. We
love the story and so far it has done well for us. We have another on the back burner and
continue to enjoy working together. I
have a couple books published on my own and while the success is wonderful, the
joy of working together with someone that cares about the project just as much
as you do just can’t be beat.
Jane Aumann and Cindy Ladage’s
new book, My Name is Huber; a Tractor’s Story was released in January of
2013 by Oaktree Press out of Taylorville, Illinois. This is the third children’s farm book
written by Aumann and Ladage. Previous
books from Aumann and Ladage include The Christmas Tractor and Tucker’s
Surprise. Jane Aumann is a language
arts teacher in Pana, Illinois and grew up on a farm. Cindy is a freelance writer and is married to
a grain farmer. Jane and Cindy each have
three children.
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